ob.random (the multimedia edition)

* sleep is overrated. in “la bamba” ritchie valens meets el curandero and is told that the waking world is a hoax and the only things that count are the dreams that speak to us in the night. werd

* check out jeremiah alexis’s short synonymUS film (Aurally Spoken) over at Current TV. you have to log on to view it but its well worth the 30 seconds. if ya like it, give it the greenlight. film available here

* as the glow of ‘burque fades i am seriously questioning my continued involvement in slam. the fact that i cant stand to be called a slam poet hasnt changed a bit despite actually hearing some good to great poems at nats and some group pieces that were more than just extended comedic skits. soon the individual competition at NPS will be phased out and we can all look forward to more group pieces which (in this observers opinion) means we can also look forward to less poetry. aint nothing wrong with group pieces but i like em much better when they are on a real stage and called theatre versus being put on a slam stage and called high art.

* magdalena gomez has an interview over at the ny latino journal

RKM: Did you grow up speaking both, Spanish and English?

MG: Yes. I grew up having an opinion. But I grew up voiceless. Not only voiceless but punished for having a voice, having an opinion. I was not allowed to choose my own clothes. I was not allowed to be with friends. I was held hostage. I had no social life. I was the school geek and I had to learn to physically defend myself because of that. I knew the importance of the voice, that’s where the body comes in, because my interior world was the only place where I could live. So I made sure that I stayed sane. My mother was a physical abuser, my father was a verbal abuser and he was withholding of love. So I needed to create a place where I felt loved, where I felt important, where I wasn’t alone anymore.

the rest of the interview can be found here

* crazy WDRE flashback: The The’s “Dusk” with personal faves Love Is Stronger Than Death, Dogs of Lust & Slow Emotion Replay

You’ve gotta work out your own salvation.
With no explanation to this Earth we fall
On hands & knees we crawl
And we look up to the stars
And we reach out & pray
To a deaf, dumb & blind God who never explains.

* current wish list of books:

Tony Hoagland’s Donkey Gospel
Li-Young Lee’s The City in Which I Love You
Cornelius Eady’s Victims of the Latest Dance Craze
Sharon Olds’ The Dead and the Living
Carolyn Forché’s The Country Between Us
&
Ai’s Killing Floor

* welcome grisel acosta to blog land and check her out over at writetoright.blogspot.com

love ya like the dude loves bowling